Pokétype
by atheistapplecats
Summary: Ash Ketchum, Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town wakes up in a morgue with no memories of who he is... little does he know, something is changing inside of him.
1. Prologue

"Did you ever think you were put here for a reason?"

Someone asked me that once, I can't remember who. I can't remember anything.

Everything is a blur, faces with no names, nothing.

I can change, be anything, become anyone, absorbing every memory until I can remember who I am. And who deserves my wrath.

My name is Ash Ketchum.

I'm going to find the people who did this to me, and when I do...

I'm going to catch them all. 


	2. Awakening

0800 Hours: Saffron City

"Alright, let's see what we've got here," sighed the GENTEK scientist, his voice muffled by the sleek black biohazard suit he was wearing. That suit and its thin layer of insulated mylar was the only line of defense he had against the deadly virus that was now loose somewhere in the city. The beleaguered man tried not to think about it. This was only the beginning, and it wouldn't do to come down with an attack of the nerves now. If he did, how could he perform his duties in what was to come? If he wasn't here, dealing with the infection, who would? What would become of his two children, of his wife, Barbara, of-

A thud broke the scientist out of his reverie. His partner, face obscured by the tinted black glass of his containment suit, had placed the next body on the autopsy table. Even to a hardened viral expert, the sight was enough to make one flinch. Before him lay a young boy, no older than twelve, dressed in jeans and a blue vest. The boy's face, thankfully, was hidden by his hat, a dirty white and red baseball cap with a green check on it. Even after all this time, the scientist couldn't bear to look his subjects in the eyes. The eyes told stories, stories of suffering and agony, stories of confusion, as the infection stripped away every last vestige of their humanity. Stories that the scientist was partially responsible for authoring.

"Hand me a number 12," the man said to his subordinate. "We're going in through the torso."

The gleaming instrument was passed from gloved hand to hand, carefully, to avoid contamination. As soon as he felt his grip tighten on the cold steel of the scapel, all of the scientist's worries passed from his head. He was a professional now, and he had a job to do. He moved with a chilled detachment, opening the boy's vest. Eight small metal badges caught the light from the surgical lamp overhead.

Preparing to make the first incision, the scientist's gaze was focused on the young corpse's sternum, and thus did not see his hand begin to move. The boy's arm shot up and gripped the GENTEK employee's hand with surprising strength.

Ash Ketchum's eyes fluttered open, and he gasped.


	3. The Hunger

The man yanked his arm free of Ash's grip and stumbled backwards, his eyes widening in surprise. This was no ordinary infected, this was... something new. Fear clouded the scientist's mind, they had trained him for this, but nothing prepared him for the horrifying reality he was confronted with. Fortunately, his comrade was of clearer mind: "SHIT!" swore the younger scientist, the epithet coming out cold and mechanical through the suit's air filter, "We've got a code red! Get a kill team in here right away!"

As he fumbled with the intercom at the edge of the doorway, Ash sprang up from the morgue table and sprinted into the hallway. He was running on pure instinct, searching only for a way to escape, not once pausing to consider how he got there. Spotting an exit, Ash ducked and rolled through a plate-glass window, causing it to shatter into a thousand fragments of splintered glass. Blinking at the sudden change in light, the revived Pokemon trainer emerged into a dark alleyway, hemmed in on both sides by tall chain-link fences. A thunderous roar filled the air in the urban area, the source of which was soon made apparent: a menacing black helicopter was descending from the sky. The chopper's blades kicked up dirt and debris all around the facility entrance, obscuring Ash's twelve year old figure. Panicking, Ash dove behind a nearby dumpster. He couldn't remember, well, anything, but a gut feeling told him the helicopter was bad news.

Three figures rappelled down from the military craft, their silhouettes as dark as their intentions. After disengaging from their zip lines, the soldiers dusted themselves off and strode across the alley to the GENTEK building's sliding doors to meet the scientists, who were only now emerging from the entrance. From his trash-strewn viewpoint, Ash couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was clear what they were discussing. Him. One of the hazmat-suited scientists began to gesture frantically while the soldiers looked on dispassionately. With a curt nod, the commander signaled his men, who pulled out slim black pistols from their combat vests. The military men dispatched the scientists without a second's hesitation.

Used only to the antiseptic violence of Pokemon battles, Ash's young eyes were unaccustomed to such displays of gore. Involuntarily, he keeled over and vomited onto the side of the dumpster. The retching noise caught the attention of the nearest soldier, who swiveled to face Ash's hiding spot.

"It's over there! Open fire!" the commander barked. Flashes of gunfire illuminated the night as the young Pokemon trainer's body spasmed under the force of multiple hollow-point slugs. He fell to the ground in a heap, lifeless.

Of course, death didn't stop Ketchum before.

Ash grunted in surprise and pain, and got slowly to his feet. The boy had just shrugged off an assault that would've killed even the hardiest full-grown man. A slow feeling of realization overtook the military men, their shock overwhelming even their arduous military training. What they had before them was no longer a child, that much was clear. Something fierce and predatory overtook Ash, clearing any cobwebs of fear or reason from his mind. The Pallet Town trainer leapt at the nearest soldier, landing directly on top of him from over twenty feet away. His juvenile fists became a blur as he furiously punched the soldier's helmeted head, the solid thumps of bone on metal giving way to wet thwacks as his assault demolished the military-issue helmet and caved in the man's skull.

The unfortunate operative's comrades recovered from their surprise and took up firing positions. One abandoned his pistol for a more potent weapon, a heavy assault rifle, while the commander pulled out a battered green radio, presumably to signal for support from the hovering black helicopter. Ash got up and crossed the distance before the soldier could open fire, grabbing the arm that held the rifle and bending it back with a sickening crack. Another crack. Ash's opponent slumped to the ground like a limp rag doll, blood pouring out of his lacerated spine.

The dull roar of the helicopter's blades intensified as the craft began to gain altitude. Ash turned to face the last remaining military man, whose face bore a dawning look of betrayal and realization. Whatever support he had been counting on from the aircraft was clearly not coming. He was alone with this monster. The trainer's face broke into a fierce grin and he pounced. Without any time to draw his weapon, the man didn't stand a chance. However, rather than simply killing him like the other two, Ash clearly had something else in mind. His trademark blue and white vest rippled and black tentacles emerged from his back. They moved with an apparent will of their own, strangling the hapless commander and drawing him into Ash's body.

The young boy's head reeled as he was flooded with new memories, new sensations. The sergeant's first day at boot camp. His honeymoon. His conversation in the helicopter only moments before. All of these memories were now Ash's, as if he had lived through those experiences himself.

Without any immediate danger, reason began to replace bloodlust. Ash looked down at his crimson-splattered hands with an expression of pure terror.

"What am I?" he rasped. "What am I becoming?"


	4. A New Order

The sound of far-off sirens broke the bloodstained youth out of his reverie. They would be coming for him soon, and while Ash could remember very little about his previous life, he had a feeling he didn't want to be here when they showed up. With inhuman speed and strength, the undead trainer leapt over the chain-link fence hemming in the alley and sprinted out into the street.

"How is this possible?" he muttered under his breath. "How is any of this possible?" Alien thoughts and images flooded the boy's mind as he ran, half-remembered conversations and foggy scenes of an almost dream-like quality. Memories courtesy of the consumed military man. None of it made any sense, there was talk of an experiment, some sort of virus. A briefing in a dimly-lit airplane passenger hold. A greying general stood at the front of the room, giving details about the target's life. Ash's life. His appearance, his Pokemon, his friends...

The shock of realization snapped him back to the real world. May. May lived here, in Saffron City. The commander had known her address, which meant there would be soldiers there within the hour.

"I have to save her," growled Ash. "I need to move fast."

Getting there on street-level would take too long. Too many obstacles, not to mention the chance of being seen. Instead, Ash ran toward one of the city's many towering skyscrapers, kicking gravel and chunks of ashphalt in his wake as he went. What he was attempting was impossible, it couldn't be done... and yet, he was filled with an absolute certainty that it would work. Just before he crashed through the concrete side of the building, the boy jumped and began to run up the vertical surface of the wall. His legs rippled and changed as his body adapted to this new environment, gripping the side of the building and propelling him upward with greater and greater speed. With a grunt, he reached the top and ducked behind a large metal air-conditioning unit.

The night sky around him was suddenly filled with blazing light as two sleek black helicopters rose around the Pallet Town boy.

"Shit!" Ash swore, "How'd they find me so fast?"

The helicopters' gun turrets roared to life in response, causing Ash to roll out from his hiding space to a more covered location. "I have to take these choppers down fast," he muttered, his eyes resting on one of the rooftop cooling units. The young trainer ran towards it, out speeding his opponents' bullets, and wrenched it free of its steel supports before quickly spinning around and using it to deflect the projectiles. Without even breaking a sweat, he threw his former shield at one of the helicopters, causing it to smash into the rotor and rip it straight off. Sparks showered down on the pavement below as the wounded vehicle entered a tailspin, heading for certain fiery doom.

The dying helicopter's escort must have realized what danger it was in, as they quickly peeled off, leaving Ash alone on the high-rise.

"I can't believe I just did that," he whispered, his words lost among the enormity of both the sprawling city before him and his impossible actions.

0930 Hours: Saffron Military Headquarters

Lieutenant Jenny sat at her desk, hands working anxiously through her blue hair. According to the radar, Thunder One had been lost, likely with all hands. Somehow, the fugitive had managed to destroy one of the nation's most advanced helicopters. One boy. Despite her family's long tradition of military and civil service, she still found herself gripped by cold dread. She had a bad feeling that Saffron's troubles were only beginning. Wondering darkly about the implications of what she'd just seen, Jenny pushed her chair away from the desk and turned to leave, only to see a man standing in the doorway. The visitor was dressed in all black and sported a military-style cap over his neatly cropped hair. On his shirt was the letter "R", its crimson-red ink providing the only color in the man's appearance.

The officer's eyes narrowed in recognition. "Team Rocket! You're behind this!" She slowly reached for her sidearm, but was interrupted by a sinister chuckle.

"There's no need for that," the man replied. "I'm here with the express permission of the Pokemon Authority."

Jenny paused, but kept her hand on her holster. "The Pokemon Authority?" she scoffed. "Why should they employ common criminals like Team Rocket?"

"Because, _Lieutenant_, as we've just seen, your men are clearly not up to handling a threat of this magnitude. We may be the only organization with the firepower, not to mention the guts, to do what needs to be done in order to save your beloved city."

Jenny's heart sank. There was some truth to what the Rocket was saying. She knew that the crime syndicate had displayed tremendous firepower in the past, their Pokemon and conventional weaponry far out-stripping what the Kanto Defense Force was legally allowed without special permission. And by the time she got requisitions for extreme force approved, half of Saffron could be leveled.

"As of now, _we_ are this city's primary line of defense," the Team Rocket agent announced.


End file.
